Texas is No. 1? Yes, 24 hours ago, that sentence could finish with a period or exclamation mark, but after a season-opening loss to Ohio State, ESPN’s CFP still have Texas at No. 1. Suffice it to say that ESPN’s initial updates– with several other surprises– have fans somewhere in the realm of confusion and disbelief.
The most common reaction to No. 1 Texas remaining No. 1 after losing to No. 3 Ohio State is, well, laughter.
ESPN fpi still has Texas 1 😂
I know it’s not actual rankings, but pretty funny
— Nick Mess (@Nickmess4) August 31, 2025
Still others, viewing the Horns atop the rankings, decided to call on AI to confirm that this was indeed the real world.
@grok is this satire ?
— 👑 (@king_cfb) August 31, 2025
Other fans were confronting the truth that the entire statistical system seems to be more than a little iffy.
Hey guys. Espn’s all knowing FPI might be broken. (bama 13th fsu 40th, texas still #1 and a number of other interesting moves) pic.twitter.com/j4mARJP88L
— brutusfootball (@brutusfootball) August 31, 2025
Based on his X handle, Brutus Buckeye above was likely aggrieved by one of the other faults of the rankings. Surely, if Texas is such a great team that a week 1 loss leaves the Longhorns somehow atop the nation, the Buckeye squad that took them down would jump to No. 2? In the time-honored words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend.” The Buckeye jump was from No. 4 to No. 3, with Georgia (fresh off a cupcake win over Marshall) hanging in between.
August 31, 2025: the last day any of us take ESPN FPI seriously https://t.co/CyF9QzuSNC
— Alex Gleitman (@alexgleitman) August 31, 2025
I must have blacked out the Texas – Ohio State game
— Nate McHugh (@nmchugh85) August 31, 2025
The Texas and Ohio State moves may have been the highest profile question marks, but there was plenty else in the FPI to wonder about.
How dominant was Temple yesterday? The Owls moved up 44 spots in ESPN’s updated FPI rankings, the biggest jump by any team in the country. ESPN now gives Temple a 64 percent chance of reaching bowl eligibility this season.
— Kyle Gauss (@kylegauss) August 31, 2025
For the record, Temple beat UMass 42-10 to suddenly jump from the bottom of the barrel to the middle of the FBS pack.
A few other moves were nearly as shocking. Utah soared 26 spots into the top 20 by beating an overrated UCLA squad. While Florida State climbed 24 spots with a win over preseason FPI No. 3 Alabama, many took exception with that jump as not enough.
Newest FPI this morning
FSU up to 40 from 65
Bama down to 13 from 3— Robot (@SimonSaysPlop) August 31, 2025
Suffice it to say, for many fans across college football, FPI’s post-Week 1 numbers had the math not exactly adding up right.
